“I don’t know your brother, I don’t think I have ever met him before. It’s his wife that I know “,he replied and got up from the chair.

He walked towards his room.

Where are you going to? Nicky asked as she followed him into his room.

Where are you going to? Nicky asked as she followed him into his room.

” I remember Amoge said something like that. You were classmates right?” She asked.

“Yes we were classmates and best friends in the past. We actually dated for a while and. … William said and paused for a while.

“And what ?”Nicky asked with curiosity .

“We loved each other. I actually wanted to marry her but I never proposed to her.She walked in on our mutual female friend making advances at me.We eventually broke up because she thought that I cheated on her.I ended up dating the lady but the relationship didn’t even last up to 3months, “William replied .

“Did you sleep with Amoge?” She asked with a straight face.

“Nicky! I am sorry” William replied.

“I said , did you sleep with her?”. Nicky asked in anger ” .

“I didn’t sleep with her but we made out” he replied.

“So when were you going to tell me that you dated my brother’s wife ?, Nicky asked in anger.

“It is just occurring to me right now that you actually saw my family pictures when you came to my room a while back. Why did you pretend that you didn’t know Amoge. Why didn’t you tell me that you dated her?”she said to him as she walked the length and breadth of his room.

“Wow!she was actually your first love .No wonder you were both quiet at the table.

You only answered my questions”,Nicky said to him with bitterness in her voice.

“Why are you saying all these?.You know that I love you very much” William said to her as he looked into her beautiful big brown eyes.

“I am not sure you do William. Why all the cover up?.Why did you hide such an important information from me? ,She asked with sadness “.

“I didn’t want to loose you honey. Let’s forget about the past and move on with our lives .The important thing is that we love each other and we want to be with each other “,he said to her with a soft voice .

William took her into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek.

“I am sorry babe”,he said .

“I don’t think I can trust you anymore. I don’t believe love is enough to make us work. I am sorry!” she said with tears in her eyes.

Nicky freed herself from his grip and ran down the stairs. She picked up her purse and ran out of William’s house.

Nicky freed herself from his grip and ran down the stairs. She picked up her purse and ran out of William’s house.

She ran to the closest bus station and picked a ride going to the hotel.

William went inside the house when she ignored his calls.

Nicky got to the hotel room which she shared with her younger sister who was already fast asleep .

Nicky went into the shower to have a hot shower. The hot water which flowed from the top of her shower cap, mingled with her salty tears and flowed out through the drainage.

The bath was refreshing although her heart still ached.She laid down on her bed. Nicky struggled to keep the tears from flowing. The memories she shared with William kept flooding her mind.

She remembered Adanna’s warning to her about guys . Nicky cried herself to sleep.

She woke up early the next day and went to Adanna’s house. She avoided confiding in any family member because she didn’t want to complicate issues for Amoge or William in the future.

Adanna took her into her room. “What’s the problem Nicky?, you sounded so troubled over the phone “,she said to her.

“Ada I should have listened to you.William dated my brother’s wife when he lived in Nigeria”,she replied.

She narrated everything that happened to her friend with tears in her eyes.

” I don’t know which is worse;the fact that he hid their relationship or Arinze’s hatred for him.I am so confused Ada”, she said to her.

“Hmmm, I must confess it’s an awkward situation to be

in.It is true that he hid some things from you but I

equally know that William loves you. Don’t throw away

your beautiful relationship with him because of your

sister in law who is happily married, Ada replied.

“How will I be able to trust him in the future? “, Nicky asked.

“One step at a time dear. Just don’t take any drastic action yet” she replied.

Nicky cleaned her eyes and said ” I think it might be too late because I kind of ended it with him yesterday”.

“Relax Nicky, you can still straighten things out with him.Let me make a cup of coffee for you okay”, Ada said to her.

Amoge woke up in the arms of her husband. “Good morning love” she said to him. “Good morning! “, he replied with sleepy eyes.

“I am truly sorry for making you feel sad yesterday”, Amoge said to him.

“You know that it’s you that I love. I choose you a million times. Don’t ever forget that.It was just strange seeing William after a long time, besides things didn’t end well between us”, she said to Arinze.

“You should consider giving Nicky a chance to date William after all I am cool with it “, she said.

“Babe , I am also sorry for the way I spoke to you. I became angry when I saw the guy who kissed you on that faithful morning. I became jealous. I know that you once loved him.Seeing you act so quietly in his presence made me doubt your love for me.I would have been stupid to keep quiet when a man who probably still loves my wife wants to marry my sister” he said to Amoge.

“What are we going to do? .I don’t even know if Nicole knows about William and I”, Amoge said to him.

“Let’s give him time to open up to Nicole first. I will speak with her about it whenever the time is right” he replied her.

William was devastated. He sat on the floor of his bedroom thinking about Nicky.He had already made plans to propose to her .He was always waiting for the perfect time .

A perfect getaway for the both of them was his desired plan to propose to a lady like Nicky or so he thought.

“Now I have lost it all” he said to himself.

He stared at the jewellery box which contained Nicky’s engagement ring with bitterness in his eyes.

He thought of several ways to reach Nicky because she refused to pick his calls.

He hurriedly picked up his laptop and went to the inbox of his email. He remembered that he exchanged a few mails with Amoge in the past.

William typed a message to Amoge. “Please we need to talk about Nicky. Can you send me your phone number?

“.

Amoge received a mail alert on her phone as she was shopping in the mall with Arinze and his family.

She read the mail and wondered if all was well with Nicky. Amoge quickly gave him her number and called Nicky’s cell phone number.

“Hi Nicky, I hope you are okay? .We need to see as soon as possible. Where have you been all day? “, she asked .

Hi Nicky, I hope you are okay? .We need to see as soon as possible. Where have you been all day? “, she asked .

” I am fine . I am busy with my packing,I moved most of my things to Ada’s house so that I can travel with you guys to London tomorrow” , she replied Amoge.

“Can we meet when you return to the hotel? “, she asked Nicky.

“Okay ! See you later” she said to Amoge.

Amoge concluded with her shopping and went back to the hotel. Arinze went with Jidenna to visit an old friend of his.

She decided to rest on the bed and order room service because she was very tired.

Amoge received a text alert on her phone from William which read; “is this a bad time to call you?”.

“Not at all! I hope all is well?” , she asked William.

William called her immediately, after the initial exchange of pleasantries, he told her that he had been dating Nicky for a while.

“William am sorry to interrupt but l need to ask you a question. Are you really serious about Nicky or are you just going to play with her emotions like you did in my case?” , she said to him .

“I am truly sorry for hurting you in the past . Let’s just say that I was immature and maybe fate wanted it that way. I love Nicky so much and I want to marry her .

The problem is that since I told her about us ,she has refused to pick my calls” , he replied with bitterness in his voice.

“Hmmm, I will speak with her about it since you sound sincere”,Amoge replied.

“Thanks alot dear , my regards to the family “he said to her and ended the call.

Amoge had just finished her plate of spaghetti bolognese when Nicky knocked on her door.

“Hi Amoge” she said politely and sat beside her on the bed.

“Hi dear , how are you doing? “She asked.

“I am okay but I am not really happy with you Amoge.Why didn’t you tell me that you dated William in the past. You told me that you were classmates, why did you leave out the dating gist?” She asked .

“I was so shocked when I saw him Nicole and frankly speaking I assumed that he would tell you later that day besides , I didn’t know how close you guys where. I am sorry dear ” ,she replied.

“So what do you want to do about William? , be rest assured that I support your relationship with him 100%” and your brother will definitely come around, she said to Nicky .

“Amoge, i feel sad about the situation. He lied to me!. He sort of hid your relationship with him from me.How will I ever trust him again?. I feel particularly bad because he knows my stance on lies and deceit”,she said with irritation.

“Nicky my sister, eventually the decision is yours to make but don’t leave him because of this . William is a good man . Don’t do something you will regret later.

Every relationship goes through a rough patch . Give him a chance okay” ,she said to her and embraced her.

” I will think about it” , she said to Amoge.

They watched TV for a while and called it a night. Nicky went to her room.

The following day, all the Okafors went to London.Amoge registered with the hospital where she would have her babies delivered a couple of days later.

Arinze and his other siblings with the exception of Nicky,returned to Nigeria .

Mr and Mrs Okafor planned to stay in London for a while and visit a few countries in Europe they hadn’t been to.

It was a rainy Wednesday evening, Nicky was trying her best to enjoy the bowl of chicken pepper soup prepared by madame Grace.

There was no doubt that the meal was sumptuous however, she lacked the apetite to do justice to it.It was her first proper meal of the day ,all she had earlier were some cookies and a few apples .

Madame Grace walked into the kitchen of the short stay apartment they rented and met Nicky eating her food with a frown on her face.

“Nicky my daughter, I don’t understand why you are starving yourself. Do you want to kill yourself because of that young man?.You have refused to tell me why Arinze claims that he isn’t good enough for you”,she said to her .